Let it snow, let it snow, let trains ride

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up,

snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather,

only different kinds of good weather.

The song says "Since we've got no place to go, let it snow (x3) "

When you do have to go anywhere, it's a bit more annoying.

But of course, not the snow. Just the stupid people saying trains and cars and buses can't ride.

Snow is not only fun, but also very beautiful.

And.. It makes great statues, if you put enough effort in it.
Judith (Cous) and I did that, and are very proud of our Davina Magdelijns ( Michelangelo's David's female version)

I like the freezing. And the cold.

I always knew I was a winter-type, but this just proves it.

Oh, and everyone keeps asking me whether I fell and/or slipped already.

I keep disappointing them, because no, I did not yet slip,

the only time I was lying in the snow was when I made an angel. So hah.

xxx

The Gypsy

And Then There Was Light ~Or not

I discovered I do not really dislike the sun when it's its watery version of the summer.

When little clouds form at your mouth when you breathe, but there's no wind.

It makes everything twinkle, but it's not that bright, rather gloomy with all the grey sweet fluffy clouds?

No wind, yet it's ice cold. That's my favourite weather. With or without the watery sun.

Sinterklaas is already gone. And Santa is about to come. Reindeers and all.

Autumn's actually moved to Winter. Leafless trees. Rain. Clouds. Mist.

I haven't had a REAL winter in a least 7 years, when we were here for quite a different reason.

So it better be good. I really hope it snows.

They have been saying that the weather has been mild up till now. D<

I heard it'll be freezing this week. So maybeh. I'm not quick thinking the weather's cold. Like, awfully so. Only time in the last ten years I've had my teeth chattering was in August 2007. Of course, that was on the Grossglockner, which is the highest mountain in Europe, about 2,5 kms above sealevel. August or not, it was chilly up there.

I've noticed I don't do things automatically. When it's quiet, I don't turn on the TV or music, just to drown it out. When it gets dark outside, I let it get dark inside, and don't turn on any lights. I don't know if I do that because I'm comfortable without light and sound, or whether I'm not just pure lazy? Maybe both, maybe neither.

Not getting food when hungry, or turning on the heater when it's cold.. I really need to teach myself to do that without actively telling myself to.

PS: Is it just me or does it really say 98 posts when there are a 100?

xxx

The Gypsy

A Sliver Of Hope.

(*points* Made by me)

Who would have thought,
that to be loved could hurt so much.
Or more specifically,
the pain in their eyes,
when they say goodbye.

They left, left me forlorn,
tears welling up
in my burning eyes.
Choking and trying so hard
to keep my face from contorting
in the pain I feel.

Missing those you love,
is the hardest thing ever.
Especially if you're used to having them always around.
Taking them for granted whilst they were there,
that is the most awful part.

'Lost' is how to describe it best.
An unexplainable urge to reach out,
yet at the same time wishing,
wishing you could just shut everyone out.

It is despair,
lined with just a sliver of hope.
Some things do change after all.

I might just stop posting for a while.
I don't know how long, might be a week, a month... (a year?)
I'll get back to updating when I have something to say.
No. I'm not depressed. Just trying to heal.

Love,
The Gypsy.

PS: 100th post already? Poor followers. xD
Here's to a well deserved break.

Water and Books

Yesterday, I guess as a sort prolonging the feast, as well as a very late birthday celebration for my brother, we went to a water theme park : Duinrell. What with frog mascot and all the water on all sides, things were soapy wet real quickly.

There were so many rides, boats we could paddle ourselves (wrongly, of course, cause who knew you had to row backwards, really), a speed train called the falcon which goes upside down and makes you regret wearing a necklace at all, and then the water ride very much like the Flying Dutchman in the Efteling (another theme park) which proceeds by cannoning a big boat with a remarkably fast speed downwards into the water, and getting everyone inside drenched in the process.

It was both chilly and windy, which we had not noticed until we got wet, but it was fun anyways.. I guess they were also all trying very hard to be friendly and nice, for once. Big improvement, although it's a shame it doesn't come naturally. They are probably going back to Egypt without me, which is leaving me rather forlorn and miserable, yet trying very hard to be hopeful at the same time. It's the first step to getting what I want, isn't it? If I try hard enough.

On the way home we also stopped at a bookstore (at which I wanted to buy like, fifty books), and they went shopping and left me there for a long while, picked me up only after they were done. (Which suited me fine, I dislike shopping unless it's for books anyways). I did find two of David Lodge's works, and with the promise to pay it back soon, I managed to borrow the money to buy them. Woohoo.

xxx
The Gypsy

A Carless Feastly Magical Sunday

Today's summary?

- Carless Sunday, no cars allowed to drive all through out the country. Environmental reasons?
Apparently they've been doing this for years, first time being in 1939. Every time for a slightly different reason. It's interesting. But highly annoying when you are trying to go out.

- Early morning, mosque visit. Reeeaaally long, tiring, but I guess it's what makes the feast complete to end Ramadan.

- A nap at daytime, finally. Oh, and food, of course. Weird to be able to drink whenever you feel thirsty.

- We went to the movies : Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince.
Not comparable to the book, but of the six movies, I think it's one of the best ones yet.
Beautiful graphics, funny jokes, brilliant atmosphere. The acting and plot might've needed a little tweaking, but that's always the fact with movies based on books, aye?

- Generally an okay atmosphere, for once. No arguing or tension. I wish it was always like this.

xxx
The Gypsy

Talk Like A Pirate Day

Aye matey, today was yer regular International Talk Like A Pirate Day, Arrr.
What are yeh lookin' at, scallywag?! It's true, I tells yah, such a day really exists!
I hope that not be troublin' yeh, else yeh'll have to walk the plank~

Anyways, it's not how I spent the day.
I went all the way to the other end the Netherlands, and spent the train trips (to and from) trying to ignore a brat kid kicking out, a hard-talking lesbian who told her story three times (without variation) to anyone who would listen, and a blond bimbo with no brains and a loose tongue.

I spent my day with Ralf and Babsi, and that was very enjoyable.
I watched them playing warhammer, trying as hard as I could to make sense of the rules. It proved not to be very difficult if you have the table with the scores and points of strength, toughness, skill, etc. It's all strategies and luck (throwing dice), and with a bit of imagination you can actually see goblins flying through the air to land wrong without hitting anyone and being totally squashed by the fall.

Then Wim (Ralf's neighbour) and Shana joined us, and started playing with Ralf's gamecube. (A Mario cart thing game?)
I had in the meantime been running on three hours of sleep in about fifty hours, and my brain was starting to show it's annoying shutting down process, even though it by no means means I got anything near actual sleeping. My body reacts to tiredness, but somehow it still manages to keep awake. Annoying, really.

Babs noticed me zoning out, and they took a break from the battle (no clue who won, I'll have to ask them), connected two more consoles to the gamecube, and the five of us played a few more races (one person watching the other four, then getting the console from the one who won the round) but I was as horrible at concentrating at that, too. It was fun though, random comments cracking them up one by one.

Then they had to eat, and I had to leave, because I had another two-hour-trip ahead of me, and I was already passed my time limit (As the plan was that I head to Dad's friend, where we were invited for the last day of Ramadan), but instead I just headed home (Way past sunset anyways).

I had also been bright enough (!) to forget my key in my bike. I spent the whole train trip going looking for it, and gave it up as a lost cause after two or three hours. I would have either have had to walk home (a good 40 minutes on a painful pair of boots) or discover/find the key after all. I was lucky.

I came home thinking it'd be deserted, but found sis at home anyways, watching tv.
I will need to go to bed soon, especially if tomorrow is the feast (which will mean we'll have to get up at 6 am)

Drink up me hearties, yo ho ;D
xxx
The Gypsy

I wish I were a kid again

Not going to start listing trouble and anxiety again, I'm quite sick of that.

Two days ago, I went out with mum to find out things about possible insurance, jobs, education, etc.. Not that I found out much, but when I came back I saw a chestnut (one of their kind, anyways) on the ground. (We have a big Chestnut Oak right next to the house I grew up in.)
When I was 7 (well, before that, too, most likely) all my classmates and I used to have a spot of competition about who would collect the largest number of the shiny brown things.

In class we'd be all kinds of creative and make figurines and the like out of them, or fill a pot with them as decoration. I remember using it as a body for a spider (See? I always have been morbid, it's not a new phase)

Anyways, I saw it on the ground, picked it up, and saw another one. Within the span of three seconds I was distracted so much by the feeling of wanting to pick up and find even more of them, that I told mum I'd be right inside, and dove into the bushes to collect them.

Within five minutes I had collected a total of thirty shiny bling-bling nuts, and I totally felt like a kid again. No worries, no strains, just "Ugh, need. to. reach. It's. too. far. Grrr... YAY! Gotcha!"
And that's brilliant.

I took a picture to post on here, with my phone. Soon afterward I wish I had not, for it became clear that there was no easy way to get the picture from my phone onto my laptop. The phone being from the Middle Ages, it has no such thing as a cable to connect to a laptop. Even if it did, I very much doubt my virus-attacked-whimpy-laptop would even have accepted the connection at all. (Which I highly doubt, seeing as it refused to accept the bluetooth drive I plugged in a million times, even though it worked alright before. Just not when I /need/ it to work. Ironic.)

After 24 hours (admittedly, not doing much to try, I've been busy working and being sick), I finally found that it was doable to plug the bluetooth driver into my sister's laptop, send the pictures to her, have her email them to me, so I could download them onto the drive and upload them. Piece of pie? I thought not.

Here you go,
You better enjoy D;

Woot for creativity?



xxx
The Gypsy

Keeping Busy..

Which is what you do when you get depressed.
Or become a liability to depression.
Because honestly, no matter how rotten I feel here, I never sank into that stupor I have back in Egypt.. Yet, anyways.

So I've been keeping so busy I barely sleep.
Just about 4 hours a night, give or take.
My weekdays last week consisted of a daily at-least-5-hour-shift at McDonalds, back home for a shower and a change in clothes, then going from door to door in our neighbourhood with sis to collect for KWF (Cancer-fighting Funds) for about two hours, to return home and work for 4 hours online (work, not play/chat), then feed myself, and read till I finally fall asleep.
How is that for routine?

Today though, no work. Kept busy anyways, although I did first sleep something like, ten hours.
We went to see a mill today!
From the inside!
It was sooo cool. =D
I made some pictures and videos, maybe that would give you a better idea then me explaining how it looked and felt.

The inside:

The outside:

Also, they had some bee-thing downstairs, selling the wax and honey and stuff bees made.

*Shiver* So many of them.


Zoetermeer really is the prettiest little town.



Some cam-whoring xD







Me and Mummy Dearest.



When we came back home, me and sis returned the Collecting Tin we had used this week, and it turned out we had collected over 80 Euros (83,62 to be exact) !!! in change! Which is like, wow, seeing as everybody put in just a few cents, I'm amazed we got so much. (To be fair, one lady gave us a 5-Euro-note. But that was a one-timer).

Then me and sis went for a bike ride, fed ducks, went to MacDee to drink something before heading home.
*yawns*
I better be off soon.
Only decent sleep I get is on weekends.

xxx
The Gypsy.

09/09/09

I've been working nine hours (both MacDee and freelance translating)
Have more than nine bruises (I'm sure)
It's just a few minutes past nine (now, anyways)
I have nine windows open (Wooh for multi-tasking)
Hoping Ralf scored a nine for his exam today (That's an American A, I think >.> Or a German 1 or 2?)
And today's date would be nine, nine, two thousand and nine.

Today was the day I was hoping to be special.
In a way. With good news.
Maybe that Tamara would get news about getting transplanted..
Or that arguments were over at home..
Or that we didn't have to go back to Egypt in two weeks..

No such luck.
Besides, I'm getting the strangest rash ever. Which I had in Egypt.
Little bumps on my skin which aren't any particular color (ie. Skin colour), which itch like hell until I give in and scratch myself open.
They're not like any insect bites, nor do I know that I ate anything to give me this kind of rash.
Conclusion: My allergy is from Egypt.
Observation: Not helping me much, knowing that. Doesn't change a thing.

xxx
The Gypsy

Downsides of a klutz

I managed to fall. Again.
Now not only my right knee is not bending without torture (which makes stairs of any sort painful), but also my left hip is completely bruised. Black, actually.
Gypsy is a klutz. Unmistakeably so.

Oh, yes..
Since I started working, my brain has been having all sorts of.. what can I call it best? uhm.. well, weird reactions, basically. It does maths a lot faster (woah), it makes me scarily organized, so much so that it's becoming really effective, and it's having me zone out a LOT more than usual, which makes me so much more a scatterbrain (to make up for the organizing and quick calculating, I'm sure).
I can actually stare ahead of me and NOT think ANYTHING. At all. And it's brilliant. Usually I can't shut my brain off, now it shuts itself off even when I still need to use it.

o.o
*cough*
So yeah.

I started painting again. ^^;;;

xxx
The Gypsy

A week's ins and outs.

All things considered, stuff is looking pretty.. positive?

Although I've had the worst week I've had in a while, physically and mentally (Lack of sleep, lack of good news, and an abundance of bad news and karma, ditched by friends...), I have not once uttered a desperately depressed "I want to die...".

And that, considering I used to say it quite a lot under less drastic circumstances, is quite a good revelation, and I confess myself pleasantly surprised.

~*~*~

I just received several books from the other side of the world, which made me happier than I've been all week.

Oh, a few days ago I was knocked of my bicycle in a storm xD Now my knee is damaged, and I can't move it without it hurting. (Which makes sleeping in the attic a nightmare.. All those stairs. D; )

The night before that, it was raining, and past midnight, I sneaked out of the house for a late night stroll. I've never done that before.. It was.. intense? Because it was scary yet awesome at the same time.

I think that was it for random fun facts about this week.

xxx
The Gypsy

MacDee

Alriiiiight.
So me and my twin are now working in the same kind of branch : ie, junkfood.
To be more exact about me, specifically: I got a very-part-time job at McDonald's.
Very because it's only once/twice a week, for a couple of hours.
Although it's good I found anything at all. It's been driving me crazy that half the town has my CV right about now, and nothing's happening yet.

Johnny prophesied that I'd get American customers if I got the job there, cause they'd wander to the nearest "homely" thing in a foreign country. That being, obviously, MacDee. xD
Cutting a long story short: He was right. xD There are quite a few regular customers as well. Americans, I mean. Or well, I would assume they're regulars, seeing the way they greet the whole staff so cheerfully.

One thing is sure though.
I appreciate those behind the register (and in the kitchens/delivery) of any McDonalds over the globe a LOT more now. Of any junk food place, really. Maybe of any food place generally.
I've honestly been underestimating working there. Might be because I'm still getting used to everything, but yeah. It's not all that easy. xD

xxx
The Gypsy.

Wickedness

This weekend might've been one of the best weekends I've had in a very long time.
Good company, good discussions, good jokes, a good movie, good food (after sunset), good drinks, good everything! =) We actually went "pubbing" and didn't get home till around 2 o' clock or something (at night, that is).
We being my cousin, Judith, her boyfriend Ricardo and a friend of theirs. Well, and me, of course.

After going to my cousin's place, we spent a bit more talking and hanging around, drinking coffee and eating chocolate (aka more good stuff), until Judith headed to bed at around 3 am. I stayed up till 4 to eat ( readying myself for another 17 hour fast), then went to bed myself (which took a lot longer than I thought it would. Maybe it was the fact I'm not used to sleeping in just any bed?) then woke up after three hours only to find the house dead quiet, and my body refusing to go to sleep again for at least three more hours.

Me and Judith were in the garden/terrace (they'd just bought new trees and plants for it Saturday) trying to uproot some very adamant plants from a big case which apparently had an entire ants colony at its bottom, when Ricardo came with a rented movie. :) More fun and laughs at that, and halfway mum and my siblings came to "pick me up", and watched the rest of the movie with us :)
It was all much funs. :3

xxx
The Gypsy

Emotional limbo

Yesterday was NOT a good day for me.
Emotionally/Mentally speaking that is.
Not even cause of just one reason, it's the "bad news comes in bunches" but then without the bad news. Just tension situations that make you want to scream or cry. Or both.

Most of the reasons I don't even want to talk about.
They're touchy subjects which need a personal close friendship to confide in, and though I can be pretty open-hearted here, I have my limits.
Lets just say it included a failed job hunt, a disease, a family crisis and a friendship's betrayal.
Yeah. I'm not even exaggerating or anything.
I'm constantly wavering between sadness, depression, self mockery and giving up, occasionally thrown off course by a completely unrelated and unexplainable loopy or hyper-ness.

And I'm not even pregnant.. God help whoever gets into my way then if it ever happens... Nor am I PMSing, for that matter. It was just the day itself. And my rotten luck :)

Today is better. Loads.
Not because anything happened that cleared up any of the aforementioned tensions, but simply because I fell back into the numb unexpectancy I've grown so familiar with.

xxx
The Gypsy

Red itchiness.

Even though Tommie's gone, he's apparently left me a fair reminder of his stay here.
A reminder that bites, and leaves itchy red marks. Yes. As in. Bugs. Nasty lil ones.
Not just bothering me, but the entire household.
So now I'm getting yelled at whenever a new red itchy mark is detected on any of their skins. Or when I complain about any of my own. Huzzah.

I sprayed twice already, but somehow they're not budging.
The longer I'll spray, the more it'll be effective, nay?
They'll have to die, eventually... D;

On an entirely different note, this is the fifth day of fasting already.
Yes, already, as in damn that time went by flying.
Always happens. The day itself seems long as hell, but the month as a whole is over in a second.
And that's sad. At the end of it things are going to go nasty, because I know it.
One way or the other there'll be arguing, there'll be an unhappy party, and there'll be more arguing. Or even worse, the "I'm not talking to you anymore" symptom that comes with unhappiness and excessive arguing.
All I can do is decide whether I want to be selfish, or be sacrificing my own happiness.
Obviously, I really don't want this month to end.

xxx
The Gypsy.

Lists

I need to make lists of the things I read and watch..
I was planning to update that book blog ages ago, and now I can honestly say that I have forgotten half of the titles I've read already.
Not good.

So I'll just type this down, maybe I'll go on about them elaborately later on (in the book blog), or maybe I'll just leave it at that, and only add any titles I'll remember later on (Right. Fat chance xD)

Series:
- House
- How I Met Your Mother
- CSI

Movies: (Not many of those, I think)
- The Gladiator
- Up (3D)
- The Secret (Documentary)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Ladder 49
- Dirty Dancing
- Ghost
- Grease 1 & 2
- Face Off
- Die Hard
- Surrogates
- Die Hard 4.0
- The Number 23
- I, Robot
- Maid In Manhattan
- Sahara

- Men In Black

- Sweeney Todd

- The Sixth Sense

- Brokeback Mountain
- New Moon

Books:
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
-... and the Prisoner of Azkaban
-... and the Goblet of Fire
-... and the Order of the Phoenix
-... and the Half Blood Prince (Twice)
- Pure Land , by Alan Spence
- Three Wishes, by Liane Moriarty
- Tussen Hoofddoek en Naaldhak, by Bea Mol
- Charmante Leugen (Originally: Spirit Willing, Flesh Weak) , Julian Cohen
- Twilight (Always have been curious to read that one. Was quite disappointing.) By Stephanie Meyer.
- Slam , Nick Hornby
- New Moon, Stephanie Meyer
- Match Me If You Can, Susan Elizabeth Philips
- Gluckskekse, Anna Hertz
- Eclipse, Stephanie Meyer
- De Dochters van Khadija, Sytze van der Zee
- Disgraced, Saira Ahmed
- Die Luge, Petra Hammesfahr
- 101 Cat Stories ( Emile Zola, Mark Twain, Colette ..etc)

- Geluksblind, *Marian Mulder
- De Mannentester, *Heleen van Rooyen
- Ademloos, *Kim Moelands
- The Gunslinger, *Stephen King
- Breaking Dawn, *Stephanie Meyer
- My Uncle Oswald, *Roald Dahl
- Tales of the Unexpected, *Roald Dahl
- Kan Ik Hem Nog Ruilen, *Yvonne Kroonenberg
- Het Zit Op De Bank En Het Zapt, *Yvonne Kroonenberg
- Alles Went Behalve Een Vent, *Yvonne Kroonenberg
- Ik Haal Je Op, Ik Neem Je Mee, *Nicollo Ammaniti (Translation from the Italian "Ti Prendo E Ti Porto Via")

- The Lord Of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

* The Fellowship of the Ring

* The Two Towers

* The Return of the The King

- Aber Aisha ist doch nicht euer Eigentum, Ben Faridi

- Taal is Zeg Maar Echt Mijn Ding, Pauline Cornelisse

- Een Moslima Ontsluiert, Naema Tahir

- The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux

This is the best my memory can do at this point in time.
Maybe I'll have more luck remembering later on.

xxx
The Gypsy

Ramadan

That's what started today (or last night, technically.)
Means no eating, drinking, intercourse, smoking, swearing, lieing or getting violent between sunrise and sunset (the last few being a given seeing as you're not supposed to do those anyways) a month long.
Sunset here, because it's summer, is late as anything, around 21:00 .. And sunrise is around 04:00. Which means 17 long hours of fasting.
It does improve self discipline, train will power and cleanse your body though, so it's not as horrible as it might sound. (Those who have never tried it seem to think it more scary than those who have; Practice makes perfect?)

*yawns* I need to make sure I try getting enough sleep though, been lacking that lately (again).

xxx
The Gypsy

A Week's Worth

This is what happens when I procrastinate. A week full of things that are actually eventful enough to relate pass by, and I can't get myself to write anything long-winded about it, partly because I'm just plain lazy, and partly because you'd be stuck reading this for hours. I'm not one for wasting other people's time.

Saturday was Sis' birthday. She turned 19! Which I remember was my favourite year ever. Up till now anyways. She better have a good year, too.
I was actually able to borrow some money and get her a decent present, which, even more surprisingly, she actually liked.
Dad slept the afternoon away, which ruined the planned trip to Madurodam, so I volunteered we postpone it to the next day, and go do something nearby that evening (which might've been partly revenge on him ruining it at all, so that he had to pay twice.. I'm awfully evil. )

We went bowling. Partly my idea as well, even though I know (as everyone keeps reminding me) it was bowling that caused my knee muscle to tear four years ago. I ended up having to walk with crutches for two months. The horror. Two years ago we went again, and I won. But they all seemed to have blocked that memory out completely. *grumble*
Didn't win this time, but I was more focused on getting everyone out of their tense atmosphere. -Yet another ruined birthday because of arguments- .(Now that everyone has had their birthday this year, I can honestly say they were all disappointments. Except for mum's maybe, who doesn't expect to celebrate it at all, so there are no expectations. And dad wasn't there, so no arguments either.)

Goooo Jess! xD

Bee-oo-tiful sunset

The day after we went to something called the Omniversum, a place like a Planetarium, with a new movie every hour. IMax Screen, and always about nature or something related.
The movie we went to was the newest edition yet, called Sea Monsters. Interesting how they combined facts with fiction. Basically it was just about a group of archeologists finding dino-bones. Sea-dinosaurs, to be exact. Call me a geek but I find that intriguing. There's always been a part of me toying with the idea to become an archeologist. But then I have so many interests parts of me are always toying with a hundred different things to become or do. It's alarming it hasn't gotten me anywhere yet. xD

After the Omniversum opened my eyes to a range of new possibilities of existence and development, we finally went to Madurodam, where we had planned to go the day before. In case you're not aware what it is, it's a little "town" with a collection of the entire Netherlands in miniature. All cities, most important buildings and places are there.
We roamed around for the whole afternoon/evening, until, when it went dark, they had a light-show: Madurodam By Night. With lasers and other flashy lights so that we were fully entertained. (Of which I have no pictures, sadly)

Mew. Miniature Dutch Windmill.

Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum

I fed fishies. o.o

Monday, we spent the whole afternoon with Mum's friend and her son, which turned out to be as fun as always when we go there. I have no idea why she had to wait so long to go there, we could have gone ten times already D; (we hadn't seen them for two years)
Her oldest son came home half an hour before we left. We hadn't seen him for four years, and man, he's changed. o.o Scarily so. But I suppose a lot of people do over four years. Especially teenagers/twenty-ers. I just made up that word -.-

Yesterday I went with mum to get her eyes checked, whether they were good for a laser surgery. Turns out they are, but that still means she needs to save up to get it.
Afterwards we went to Ikea, which is one of Holland's well-known furniture shops ever.
I designed the interior of my "future home" a total of six times, each totally different from the other. Which brought me a pang of pain seeing as I might never actually have that.
Back home I made my first ever own decision, without asking for either permission, help or money. True, Dad doesn't even know yet, but Mum didn't even put up a fight. It has me feeling both elated and glad it all went well, but I'm just hoping it doesn't blow up in my face.

Last night Dad decided to chuck some old stuff out, so my attic is actually half-empty now.
Did a lot of cleaning and vacuuming and shifting bed and table and closet alike.
I took a break to type this out, but I'm not near-finished yet.
Maybe I'll just continue tomorrow?

xxx
The Gypsy.

I miss him already.

The owners of Tommie just came to pick him up about an hour ago.
I miss him already.
He woke me up daily purring in my ear.
Regardless of the fact he attacked me and the laundry daily, too.
It's empty up in the attic without him. *sniff*

The kids who own him came back from the South of France today, and couldn't wait to pick him up. Sunburned and content, it was obvious they were glad to be home and have him back.
Kevin (The younger of the two) gave me a potted plant, and Nick (A few years older) some chocolate. As a thank you gift! And that with me stressing over and over that it was for free!
So sweet though! Real touching.
First flowered plant anyone has ever given to me. So it feels special.

Don't know if I'll post pictures. Maybe tomorrow~
Tschüss. -thanks Babs- (Means Adios in German. Which means Doei in Spanish. Which is Dutch for Bye in plain old English) <-- To activate your brain, that is.

xxx
The Gypsy

Nopes, sorry..

.. to disappoint you.

Nothing worth telling is happening.
I'm not going to complain and apart from anything to complain about very little is happening.
Just reading a lot to avoid everything. Reading's good.

(Dutch mill, yo)

Today it rained. Finally. After days of "heat".
Heat being between quotation marks because it's relative.
Weather in Texas and Egypt are both far more deadly.
I still hate the sun, anyways.

I want to visit my relatives, or go out with friends, but really, people seem to be showing very little motivation for anything these days. From both sides, myself excluded. However that works. So yeah.

Tired.
Going to try and sleep.

xxx
The Gypsy.

Blijdorp, Rotterdam

That was two days ago, beginning of the heatwave that's stuck for a good three days, today being the hottest of all. I don't want to move if I can help it xD Lazy as the lionesses I saw at the zoo.
It is not just a zoo, mind, as a sort park divided into the continents of the world.
About the closest you can get to any animal, basically, unless you have them in your own back yard. xD

I went with a friend of mine, Kim, who has this card thing that let go in for free because her study/job are linked to animals and animal care. Huzzah!
It was major fun :3



I have always known I was an animal lover, but I didn't know I loved quite that many animals xD
I seemed to have many many favourites, more so than even I could have told you beforehand.
Tigers, penguins, sea turtles, snakes, racoons and birds of prey, they all made me squeal.
Seeing as it was a really hot day, the animals were slower and lazier than usual, which meant that all those belonging to the cat family were sleeping, and all the others were hiding in the shades of big bushes and trees.






Me and Kim also attended this show called Free Flight (literally translated anyways). Birds of Prey and their natural living surroundings, habits and whatnot. Owls, vultures, ravens, aras and ibises, all zooming very close to our heads. Twas cool :3





Also, the Oceanarium continues to intrigue me. It consists of a huge tunnel underneath a big as hell basin of water, so you're walking under the sea turtles, sting rays and sharks, as it were. They are everywhere around you, doing what they do best: Swim and take no notice of the many hands trying to knock a hole in the glass of which the tunnel is made.

And as you walk on you arrive in a hall where you can go see a lab, where I found Nemo =D , and Dory as well xD





Little seahorses and a crab-like animal which looked suspiciously like an armoured stingray.

Monkeys, elephants, giraffes. It was all stunningly beautiful.
Ended a perfectly good day with a perfectly delicious sandwich with smoked salmon and something to drink, and as we walked out we bumped into Kim's best friend, so that she had someone to go home together with. :3



xxx
The Gypsy

Weekend.

August already?
What's up with time robbing me like that? xD

Tommie is still holding me company, but that's as much as company goes.
Haven't been online much, and thus haven't been in touch with anybody.
Sometimes having friends living mightily far away just stinks.
Not that I'd be allowed to spend that much time with them if they did live next door, mind...

Kept busy though. Mostly reading. Or rereading.

Saturday we went to a (free) concert in Hoek van Holland, which was a blast.
Specifically Kane was, about the only dutch band I actually like.
It lasted for hours on end, and ended in a show of fireworks which was stunningly pretty.


Sunday was even cooler, we went to something called Castlefest. A three-day-event (Friday + weekend) which mixes the medieval times with fantasy. And such an event is incomplete without performers and guests alike coming in crazy, scary, gothic,beautiful or accurate costumes.
That meant that there were devils, elves, witches and wizards, pirates, princesses, knights and so much more~ I even saw three Jack Sparrows there (One of whom was female. :3 )

I was dieing to buy a corset, but dad wouldn't lend me the money because he thought it was way too expensive (never mind the fact he knew I was going to pay it back). He reckoned I could have a tailor in Egypt make one "just like it." Yeah right.

There were bands playing, Celtic music as well as Scottish tunes, and some of the stuff sounded like we were in the middle of a Lord Of The Rings scene. Although I wouldn't know exactly, having never been able to watch a complete LotR movie up till this moment.

I want to go again next year, wearing a costume. (Although I'm torn which costume I like best, there were several things that looked really prettiful. -Amongst them a pirate costume, and elf one, and a sort of medieval-damsel-in-distress-dress - )



On the way home I actually got dad persuaded (gasp) to get take out at my all-time-favourite restaurant ever (faint): A Chinese-Indian one. Then we went home and I had the best take-out-dinner in two years.

Cheers,
xxx
The Gypsy.

Yo

Soooo. Not much happening.
I'm spending a lot of time reading.
Good books, too. Although I'm having to sneak around to read them.
Not everybody approves of me reading as much, but really, their problem, not mine.

I went to get a new haircut a couple of days ago.
I'm also getting lots of exceedingly positive remarks, which are making me feel temporarily good-looking. The only negative remarks I got are from the males in this household, who by default prefer long hair, no matter how awful it looks.
Personally, I'm glad I took it off. And that's more important then what anybody else says, isn't it?
(Yes, so, compliments allowed, negative remarks not allowed. Capisce?)

Yesterday we spent at my aunt's. We hadn't seen her for two years, and the last time she was pretty morose. Now, however, she was perfectly cheerful, and mum said she had her old sister back. So that's good.
Sadly, they got rid of their dog: Kwik. Kwik and I used to be awesome buddies, and I really missed him yesterday. But they just couldn't take care of him anymore, and he's with people who really want him now, so I s'pose it's all for the best.

I want to buy lots of things myself, and go out and whatnot, but no monies means no expenses unless they be presents~
My birthday isn't any time soon, so I'mma have to sit this out~

xxx
The Gypsy

Three-week-guest.

I am having a guest over, he's called Tommie.
He's sharing my attic, food and drink, because the rest of the house aren't being very hospitable. They'd rather not have him lounge in the sitting room downstairs the whole time, and thus I just spend a lot of time upstairs in the attic.

Seeing as the attic's big enough for the two of us, the only explanation to him demanding we share my bed as well is that he's just plain cuddly.. and loves the attention.
And I'm a softie. Plus, admittedly, I fell for his charms from his pictures, before I even met him. He's adorable. *nod*
Right now he's begging I get off, so I'll just upload the first picture I saw of him and let you judge, savvy?
Later!





xxx
The Gypsy

Birthday weekend.

That's right.
Bro's birthday was Saturday, Dad's Sunday.
Both weren't on speaking terms, and thus it was up to me, mum and sis to put in the effort to let things go semi-smoothly. Pretty tiring, that.
But they're all still breathing and such, so I guess we can't complain..
They're still deciding where we're going out for their birthdays, if we're going at all.
In three weeks time sis will also be having her birthday.
I'm just going to stay out of the arguments about where to go or not completely. *nods*

The sad thing is that I still don't have a job, so I can't even give proper presents.
And along with that, I'm still doing nothing more productive then reading books.
Which is quite alright and everything, but I don't specifically want to stay cooped up here for the rest of the summer just because my aunt and cousin left.
There's this pet store that I left my number at, but they're not calling up all that quickly. I really really really hope they don't forget about it though.

But... My uncle's coming in a bit, so I might as well get going,

Cheers,
xxx
The Gypsy.

Hurray!!!

So, okay.. Cheerfulness. Lots of it.
Finally =D
For several reasons, too!

1. France was awesome. I mean, read my last entry.

2. Two days after we came back, and the muscle ache ebbed away, my cousin and aunt went back to Egypt, and I got my attic back. (Yay for anti-hospitality!)

3. I get more me-time now they are gone. Well, I suppose that comes with my own place. (Place being attic. Der.)

4. I chatted/phoned with good friends I've missed talking to. Be it those couple of days of France and such, or much earlier, say, when my aunt and cousin came here. (I know, sounds silly listing that here, but hey. It makes me happy right now.)

5. I actually finished two books in three days. Haven't had time for that in a long while. Good books, too.

6. (Sort of saving the best for last.) I got my fourth year results. I PASSED! Like, with high marks, not just.. passes!
Geez. That felt like a weight lifted off my chest. A heavy weight. A really heavy weight.

Right now, I don't want to be thinking of stuff that always worries me. I just want to enjoy the good things happening just now. I can always worry again later. This is a living-in-the-moment period for me. Rawr.

xxx
The Gypsy.

Vive La France!

Cause that's where we were. Just in case I was missed.
We went there on a day tour (or more like, a 30-hour tour), with a bus that picked us up from Den Haag Friday night, and dropped us off in Bercy (Paris) at 6:35 in the morning.

Spoiler: Lots of pictures ahead. xD

Sleep drunk, shivering in the cold wind, we were trying to orientate ourselves. Looking back, those first ten minutes were hilarious, we were just dazedly standing there. xD
We found a metro station quite near, and went there to ask about. The lady (Sonya) was really nice and helpful, and told us we better get a day card for the metro, instead of getting a ticket at every stop. Everyone under 25 (four of us seven) also got a special Saturday-price, so it wasn't half as pricey as dad had expected it to be. (He wanted to cruise Paris on foot. Right now, looking back at it, that is simply laughable. All our muscles are aching horribly and we didn't even walk all over the place.. Or well, we did, but not .. oh well, you get it. Or not xD)

At 07:00 we were at the Louvre, and the first thing I did was look for the glass pyramid, wondering whether Mary was really buried. (Stupid Dan Brown putting ideas in my head D; )




We walked all the way down the Tuilleries, pretty sight, lots of fountains, and with our back to the Louvre, we could look out and see Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe and Cleopatra's "needle" (an Egyptian Obelisk)... Just from afar, that is.
Then we walked up close to the Obelisk, then looked for the nearest Metro station.



Took us a while to find the Metro, but really, I have to admit that that network is just as complete in France (Or Paris anyways) as the bicycle network is in Holland~


We got out in Montmartre (funnily enough the neighbourhood our french novel was about when I last took French -three terms ago-) and just walked there, through Place de Tertre, full of painters, sketchers and other artists... Someone stopped me, and then proceeded to cut out the profile of my face into black paper within one minute. Absolutely brilliant.

Then we asked for directions, and walked up to the Sacre Coeur... From up there, you could just give your back to that amazing building and look over all of Paris... Every tower, building, dome and museum could be pointed out. Plus, it was sunny, so the whole city looked like it was shimmering~
The Sacre Coeur on the inside was absolutely stunning. I usually like the way churches look on the inside, but this was just beyond good-looking. It's an absolute shame I wasn't allowed to take pictures there, the whole ceiling had lovely paintings on it, and it was all so.. warm.
Something that might have added a bit to it's magic was that when me and sis stepped inside, a second later the choir started singing. Right before we left it, they stopped. Coincidental timing, but spiffing all the same...


We went down, and took the Metro, heading for Tour Eiffel. I hadn't quite gotten the idea that we were actually going up there, and I was irked like crazy because dad kept urging us to hurry up everywhere. We had to switch Metros anyways, so I got them persuaded to go and see Arc de Triomphe as we got off one line to get on the next (it was a three minute walk from the station)...


And back down, to Tour Eiffel...


Only to find it so friggin' packed with tourists it wasn't even funny anymore..



The queue in front of the ticket booth must have been longer than 2kms (that's about 1,3 miles), and it wasn't going fast at all. I was actually quite content not going up, which would have meant wasting I don't know how many valuable hours to see Paris from up high, like how we saw it from the Sacre Coeur, only more... centric.



So we just took a crapload of pictures and wandered around a bit.
Whilst I was posing for a picture I hear a "mmmmwah" sound next to my ear, and before I know it this stranger kisses me on the cheek.
So what, you ask? It's Paris, after all, city of love.
Well, this stranger was wearing a clown's nose and pilot headgear D; So yeah.
xD Got a picture with him anyways.


Then we went to the most important place (to me, anyways. I'd been yearning to see it for years now) : The Notre Dame. Truth be told, I hadn't imagined it quite so impressive, beautiful and big as it turned out to be. I am thinking of getting a few of those statues, a pillar or two and some plated glass for my own future home. I'd build my own mini-Notre Dame 8D
In there, we /were/ allowed to take pictures. Or we did take pictures, at any rate. There weren't any "Forbidden to use camera" posters anywhere.









After that we took it slow, walked a long way, ate something, took the metro and went back to Bercy. We sat at a cute little cafe until it was almost time for us to leave, tired and numb, but entirely content.

Not a lot of sleep on the way back, I couldn't. Every part of my body had started aching (and still is, at that, two days later. Only far, far less.) and the view was interesting.
Came home, took a shower, and slept like a rock for the first time in... a year? (the sleep, not the shower D;)
Bloody awesome xD.

Oh. Yes.
An extraordinary amount of Harry Potter posters in France.
Practically every Metro-station-wall.
Couldn't resist taking a picture. (Or five)




xxx
The Gypsy